The Frank Frazetta Calendar 1979

The Frank Frazetta Calendar 1979 was the third calendar to feature paintings from one of the legends of fantasy art.

The front cover to The Frank Frazetta Calendar 1979.

Published in August 1978 by Peacock Press and Bantam Books The Frank Frazetta Calendar 1979 featured reproductions of 13 paintings by the renowned fantasy artist. The calendar measured 320 x 310mm and was printed on bright white paper stock with a thicker card cover, and shipped in a cardboard envelope (see above). Each month featured a full-page Frazetta painting along with that month’s dates on the page below, while the centre spread featured a full-bleed reproduction of Carson of Venus. On the back cover was a short biography of the artist as well as contact details for those who wished to purchase posters of the artwork featured in the calendar.

The back cover.

Frank Frazetta came to prominence in the world of fantasy art when his paintings featured on the covers of Lancers Books’ Conan the Barbarian reprint series in the early 1960’s. Although Frazetta had been able to eke out a living as a commercial and comic book artist in the 1950’s, it wasn’t until his artwork appeared on the covers to the Lancer series that he found lasting success. Frazetta’s painted covers proved an huge and immediate hit with readers (many of whom purchased the books just for his artwork) and he quickly became one of the most sought after artists in the fantasy genre. Indeed, many fans of Robert E. Howards’ Cimmerian barbarian consider Frazetta’s interpretation to be definitive.

Below are all the pages from The Frank Frazetta Calendar 1979 (please note some of the paintings feature mild nudity). Frazetta fans may be interested to learn that this calendar can be reused in 2018, and fans of Frazetta’s calendars can click here for a closer look at his calendar from 1977, and here for a look at the 1978 calendar.